As a long-time fan of The Sandman comics I was very interested to see how it could work as an audiobook - I've never heard of a comic being adapted this way before. Due to the fact that it has a full cast and contains music and sound effects, this comes across less like a traditional audiobook and more like a radio show. The dialogue however is almost verbatim that which was used in the comic with a couple of extra descriptive parts so that the listener knows exactly what is going on.
Because it is a straight adaptation no attempt has been made to modernise the setting; it is still very firmly in the late 1980s. This may cause it to feel a little dated to younger listeners in some aspects, but because Sandman was pretty groundbreaking upon its original release this adaptation feels largely timeless. (The one nod to modern sensibilities I noticed is that the genderless/genderfluid Desire is now referred to as "they" rather than "it").
It's possible that those who have only become fans due to the TV series may be put off or upset by some of the more unpleasant or disturbing aspects of Sandman (for example "24 hours" - though the TV version was pretty horrible, the comic version was infinitely worse, and this adaptation does not shy away from that), so caution should perhaps be taken.
My only real gripe one bit of casting - the majority of the performances are exemplary, but Kat Dennings as Death was completely wrong as far as I'm concerned. I can see from other reviews that there are many who disagree with me and loved her, so this may be a matter of personal taste. However to me, Death should be portrayed with a certain level of empathy, wisdom, and humour. Kirby Howell-Baptiste nailed it in the TV show, but by contrast Dennings just comes across as bored and annoyed, both in her interactions with Dream and with those she's come to collect. Just compare the death of Harry the old violinist - this scene in the TV show never fails to make me cry, yet here I get absolutely nothing from it. She comes across as irritated with him in this version, there's no emotion to it whatsoever.
However that is my only negative. Whether you're a new fan, or one of many decades I would have no hesitation in recommending this to you.
Top reviews from United Kingdom
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
R. J. Kilfoyle
Quite simply, marvellous
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 October 2023B. Mcquillen-wright
Imaginative and chalkboard
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 December 2021Ciaran Ansdell
A very good adaption
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 November 2020Top reviews from other countries
KGBeast
Sandmann 1 - 20. Starbesetzte Audiofassung
Reviewed in Germany on 13 May 2023
RDD
Captures the Tone of the Story & Great for Fans!
Reviewed in the United States on 28 December 2021
Aaron B. Culley
Excellent adaptation
Reviewed in the United States on 8 November 2020Barrett R McGivney
The soundtrack for the movie in my mind
Reviewed in the United States on 2 March 2021